Rotary brush assemblies



E. J. AHERN ROTARY BRUSH ASSEMBLIES Dec. 15, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMay 29; 1968 In 119 n for Edward J flherru 59 [us flfiornqy Dec. 15, I EAHERN ROTARY BRUSH ASSEMBLIES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 29, 1968 UnitedStates Patent Office 3,546,731 Patented Dec. 15, 1970 3,546,731 ROTARYBRUSH ASSEMBLIES Edward J. Ahern, Manchester, N.H., assignor to S. A.Felton & Son Company, Incorporated, Manchester, N.H., a corporation ofMaine Filed May 29, 1968, Ser. No. 733,062 Int. Cl. A46b 7/04 US. Cl.15-183 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rotary brush assemblycomprising a plurality of brush portions, each portion mounting aplurality of brush segments having elongated plastic backing members,and means for interconnecting said brush portions and for anchoring saidplastic backing members to inhibit bowing out of the brush segmentsduring periods of brush usage at high rotational speeds.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This inventionrelates to rotary brushes and is directed more particularly to rotarybrushes of the type suitable for use in automatic car washingfacilities.

Description of the prior art It has become commonplace in automatic carWashing facilities to utilize relatively large rotary brushes mounted insuch a way as to engage the sides and top of an automobile passingthrough the facility. Brushes of this type generally comprise a numberof brush elements having wooden back members bolted at either end tocircular end members which support the brush elements and which arecaused to rotate about a common axis by power means.

It hasbeen deemed desirable to utilize plastic brush backing members incar washing installations, but such members generally suffer from atendency to bow radially outwardly when the brush is rotating at highspeeds, applying uneven pressure to automobile sides and tops.

Generally, brushes of this sort, because of their size, are shipped inhalves and assembled at the car wash facility. Normally, bolts at eitherend of the brush backing members secure the members to circular endmembers which may be halved for shipment and later bolted together tocomplete the rotary brush.

Where plastic backing members are used, it is necessary that structuralsupport portions other than the circular end members secure the backingmembers against the bowing out tendency. However, the use of bolts onthe exterior of the brush backing members is not desirable in view ofthe possibility of the bolt engaging a car surface, and the use of boltsreaching into the interior of the brush assembly is not practicable inview of the fact that once the halves are together the brush assemblyinterior is closed so that nuts cannot be applied to such bolts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide a rotary brush assembly having plastic brush backing members.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a rotary brushassembly comprising portions which may be shipped separately, andconveniently interconnected to form a complete brush assembly.

A still further object of the invention is to provide such assembly inwhich the brush backing support means is separable and readilyinterconnected by bolt means without the necessity of access to theinterior of the assembly and without disposing the bolt means on theexterior of the brush.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, afeature of the present invention is the provision of a rotary brushassembly comprising first and second end members which are separable andinterconnectable, elongated brush segments connected at either end tosaid end members, said brush segments having plastic brush backingmembers, support means disposed between said end members, said brushbacking members being attached to said support means, said support meansbeing separable into a plurality of support portions, and bolt receivingmeans integral with said support means for facilitating interconnectingof said support portions.

The above and other features of the invention, including various noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts, will now be moreparticularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings andpointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particulardevice embodying the invention is shown by way of illustration only andnot as a limitation of the invention. The principles and features ofthis invention may be employed in various and numerous embodimentsWithout departing from the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings in which there is shown an illustrative embodiments of theinvention from which its novel features and advantages will be apparent.

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of one form of brushassembly illustrative of an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view, taken along line II-II of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, it will beseen that the illustrative assembly includes a pair of end members 2, 4fixed proximate to opposite ends of a common axle 6. Secured to the endmembers are brush segments 8 having elongated plastic backing members 10to which are fixed tufts 12 of brush bristles. The brush segments 8 arelocked to the end members by way of bolts 14 received in bores 16 in thebacking members 10 and slots 18 in the end members. Nuts 20 retain thebolts in place.

The backing members 10 are further fixed to a Sup port structure 22which prevents excessive bowing out of the plastic brush backing members10 during high speed revolutions of the brush assembly. The supportstructure 22 comprises a first support member 24 and a second supportmember 26, generally radially divided from each other.

The first support member 24 includes a hub portion 28 shaped to receivethe axle 6 and a flange portion 30 having slots 32 therein for receivingbolts 34 (FIG. 2) disposed in bores 36 in the brush backing members 10.Nuts 38 retain the bolts 34 in place whereby to lock the brush backingmembers 10 to the first support member 24. The first support member alsohas a pair of recessed lugs 40 which threadedly receive connecting bolts42.

The second support member 26 includes a hub portion 44 shaped to receivethe axle 6 and a flange portion 46 having slots 48 therein for receivingthe bolts 34 disposed in the bores 36 in the brush backing members 10.The nuts 38 retain the bolts 34 in place whereby to lock brush backingmembers to the second support member 26. The brush backing members oneither end of the second support member receive the connecting bolts 42which are also received by the slots 48 in the flange portion 46 of thesecond support member and by the lugs 40 of the first support member.The flange portion 46 of the second support member is received inrecesses defined by the recessed lugs 40 of the first support member.Thus, after setting of the connecting bolts 42, the first and secondsupport members form the complete support structure 22 for the brush,the two halves of the brush being locked together, having internalfacility to inhibit outward bowing, without the necessity of breakingthe integrity of the brush either for the purpose of locking the twohalves together or for the purpose of locking a support structure inplace.

In operation, the brush assembly is shipped in two portions, or radiallydivided longitudinal halves, the end members being separable into twosections each. A pair of half end members with the brush segments boltedthereto constitute a first portion of the assembly. The fist portionalso includes the first support member described above. Another pair ofhalf end members with brush segments bolted thereto and including thesecond support member constitute the second portion of the assembly. Theconnecting bolts 42 may be provided with nuts (not shown) duringshipment.

Upon arrival at the users facility, the nuts are removed from theconnecting bolts 42 and the two portions of the assembly are boltedtogether by bolts 50 (FIG. 1) which operate to connect the end memberhalves. Bolting the two brush assembly portions together places thesecond support member flange portion 46 in the recesses defined by therecessed lugs 40 of the first support member 24, with the slots 48 inalignment with the threaded bores in the lugs 40. The connecting bolts42 are threaded into the lugs 40 to connect the first and second supportmembers 24, 26 together.

Although for illustrative purposes one support structure 22 has beenshown, it will be appreciated that if deemed desirable a plurality ofsuch support structures may be included in the brush assembly.

It is to be understood that the present invention is by no means limitedto the particular construction herein disclosed and/or shown in thedrawings, but also comprises any modifications or equivalents within thescope of the disclosure.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

I claim:

1. A rotary brush assembly comprising a plurality of brush portionsradially separable along the longitudinal 4 axis and including aplurality of brush segments, said brush segments having elongatedplastic backing members, means for interconnecting said brush portionsto form a unitary rotary brush, and means for anchoring said plasticbacking members to inhibit bowing out of the brush segments duringperiods of brush usage at high rotational speeds.

2. A rotary brush assembly comprising first and second end members, eachend member being separable into a plurality of portions, means forinterconnecting the end member portions, brush segments connected tosaid end member portions, said brush segments having elongated plasticbacking members, and generally radially separable means connected tosaid backing members for anchoring said backing members to inhibitbowing out of the brush segments during periods of brush usage at highrotational speeds.

3. The invention according to claim 2 in which said anchoring meanscomprises a support structure separable into a plurality of supportmembers, each support member being attached to brush segments, saidsupport members being shaped complementarily to one another so that whensaid end member portions are connected together said support membersfittingly engage one another, and means for interconnecting said supportmembers by operations wholly on the exterior of the brush backingmembers, said support member interconnecting means including lockingmeans in the interior of the brush assembly.

4. The invention according to claim 3 in which said support structurecomprises first and second support members, recessed lugs disposed onsaid first support member, said second support member being receivableby recesses in said first support member defined by said lugs, and meansassociated with said lugs for lockingly receiving a fastener connectedto a brush backing element and received by said second support member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,200,430 8/1965 Haracz 15l833,393,418 7/1968 Mundo 15183 FOREIGN PATENTS 109,394 9/1917 GreatBritain 15-183 EDWARD L. ROBERTS, Primary Examiner

